A landslide has struck villages in central Papua New Guinea, with local media reporting that 40 bodies have been recovered and 20 people are still missing.

Martin Mosi, director of the National Disaster Centre in the South Pacific island nation, said several of the villages were close to where the landslide occurred, near the town of Mendi early on Tuesday, and that fatalities were likely but unconfirmed.

Three officials from the National Disaster Centre were headed to Mendi, from where they will be flown by helicopter to join police at the disaster site. "Most likely, lives have been lost. We cannot tell how many," Mosi said.

Francis Potape, the Papuan energy minister, told Radio Australia's indigenous-language service the landslide had covered two villages completely while people slept.

"There are people buried underneath and a number of them are, from what I have heard, children," the National newspaper quoted Potape as saying.

The Post Courier reported that the prime minister, Peter O'Neill, would fly to the state later. Local media reported that the destruction extended for over a mile, leaving roads to villages cut off.